Hot, Hot Summertime: Heat and your Horse

When you own horses, you already know that there is a lot of stuff you need to be aware of, and a lot of different conditions that you have to be sure to watch for and to treat for. One of the problems with owning horses is that you can only do so much for them to get them out of the weather. With a dog or a cat, you can take them inside when it is very hot or very cold, but with a horse, you have to make decisions based on what you can do, and usually you only have a barn to take them into. That said, you always have to be aware of how the weather is affecting your animals, and along with other things, you have to be sure that you are watching for heat stress in your horse.

Like other animals, horses can be affected by the extremely hot weather. You want to be sure that your horse always has plenty of shade, and plenty of water, but sometimes this isn’t enough. If you are living somewhere that it is very hot, you have to be sure to take precautions so that your horse isn’t affected by heat stress. There are several things that you can do to make sure that your horse handles the heat as well as he can.

No matter what the temperature is, working is going to make a horse hotter because working makes them use all of their muscles and expand more energy. If your horse is working, he is going to get hotter. Therefore, on very hot days, you have to be sure that you are resting your horse. It is fine to turn him out to pasture, because chances are that he won’t work any harder than he should. However, you are going to want to avoid riding him or making him do any work on very hot days.

Like all other animals, horses need to have fresh and safe water that is there for them at all times. You have to be sure that you are refilling your horse’s water, and that it is kept cool. Warm water isn’t going to be as good for him as cool water will be.

Remember that your horse depends on you to protect him from the heat. Be sure that you have done your research so that you know what the best ways are to keep your horse cool and safe when it is hot outside, and be sure that you follow through with these things so that your horse remains healthy.

  
THE HORSE STALL
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
◦ Equine Piroplasmosis (EP)
HORSE HEALTH
◦ Alternative Medical Care for your Horse
◦ Baby Horsies: Caring for Fouls
◦ Bones and Muscles: Horse Anatomy
◦ Caring for a Pony During the Winter
◦ Cleanliness and your Horse's Health
◦ Do You Show Your Horse Love in The Winter?
◦ Healthy Foods for Healthy Horses
◦ Helping Mother and Baby
◦ Hormones and Drugs for Stallions
◦ Horses and Dental Care
◦ Horse’s Shoes
◦ Horses and Sunburn
◦ Horses and the West Nile Threat
◦ Hot, Hot Summertime: Heat and your Horse
◦ Packing on the Pounds: Healthy Horse Weight
◦ Parasites
◦ Shots and Pills: Vaccinations for your Horse
◦ The Different Types of Fly Sheets
HORSE DISEASES
◦ Equine Colic and your Horse
◦ Equine Dermatophilosis
◦ Equine Influenza
◦ Equine Lordosis
◦ Euthanasia and your Horse
◦ Horse Insurance
◦ Horse Skin Diseases
◦ Navicular Diease
◦ The Importance of Choosing a Vet for your Horse
◦ Vaccinations for your Horse
◦ White Line Disease
HORSE BLANKETS AND SADDLES
◦ About Horse Saddles and Horse Blankets
◦ A Peek into The History of Horse Blankets
◦ Are Horse Blankets Really Necessary?
◦ Hail, Ye Olde Horse Blanket!
◦ Horse Blankets AND Saddles
◦ Horse Tack-Purchasing a Western Saddle Blanket
◦ The Various Types of Horse Blankets and Sheets
SHOWING YOUR HORSE
◦ Choosing Tack for the Dressage Horse
◦ Horse Blankets and Dressage, you ask?
◦ Horse blankets and Horse Boots Do Have Their Purposes
MISC. ARTICLES
◦ Horse Insurance
◦ Keeping your Horse Safe when Riding
◦ Tying Up Your Horse
◦ Ponies Are Adorable
◦ Retired Horses: Care for the Elderly
◦ What Is Western Tack?
◦ When Do You Need Horse Equipment?
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